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Not yet recruitingNCT07890857Updated Oct 22, 2026

Superficial Parasternal Block Combined With Rectus Sheath Block for Open Cardiac Surgery

A Phase 4 interventional study of Parasternal and rectus sheath block, ropivacaine 0.25 % in Cardiac Valve Disease and Coronary Heart Disease, sponsored by Hôpital du Valais. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-22.

Sponsored by Hôpital du Valais · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Oct 22, 2026Newly registeredGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
100
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The investigators will examine whether the combination of a superficial parasternal block and rectus sheath block with multimodal analgesia can enhance postoperative pain control and reduce opioid administration when compared to multimodal analgesia alone, in participants undergoing cardiac surgery and receiving standardized multimodal analgesia.

Read the detailed description

In this randomized double blind study the investigators aim to examine whether the combination of a superficial parasternal block and rectus sheath block with multimodal analgesia can enhance postoperative pain control and reduce opioid administration when compared to multimodal analgesia alone, in participants undergoing cardiac surgery with midline sternotomy. All blocks will be administered at the end of surgery.

Multimodal analgesia is inclusive of: sufentanil, paracetamol, metamizol, dexamethasone, magnesium sulfate. all patients are aimes for fast track surgery, i.e. extubation within 6 hours after the end of the intervention.

The hypothesis of the investigators is that combining rectus sheath block and parasternal block will reduce postoperative pain during the first 24 postoperative hours after cardiac surgery, when compared to a standard multimodal analgesic regimen alone.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cardiac Valve Disease
  • Coronary Heart Disease

Keywords

  • Parasternal block
  • Rectus sheath block
03

In context

Heart Valve Diseases

544 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Valve Diseases; 174 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 100 is close to the median of 100 across 296 interventional studies indexed under Heart Valve Diseases.

Browse Heart Valve Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

Hôpital du Valais is the lead sponsor of 15 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Body weight ≥ 50 kg.
  • Primary cardiac surgery via a median sternotomy approach
  • Planned for fast-track procedure (i.e. postoperative extubation time of maximum six hours)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

    • Participation in another study within the 30 days preceding and during the present study

      • Emergency cardiac surgery
      • Previous cardiac surgery
      • Hypersensitivity or allergy to ropivacaine and other amide-class LA
      • History of chronic pain
      • History of substance abuse
      • Renal dysfunction (i.e. creatinine clearance ≤ 30 ml/min)
      • Severe cardiac dysfunction (i.e. LVEF ≤ 35%)
      • Severe obesity (BMI > 40 kg/m2)
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
100 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Parasternal + rectus sheath block

    Participants receive a bilateral Parasternal + rectus sheath block, and multimodla analgesia

    Drug: Parasternal and rectus sheath block, ropivacaine 0.25 %

  • No intervention
    No block

    No block, multimodla analgesia

Interventions

  • DrugParasternal and rectus sheath block, ropivacaine 0.25 %

    Patients will all receive multimodal analgesia. one group will receive blocks and the other not.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. intravenous morphine-equivalents consumption at 24 hours postoperatively

    intravenous morphine-equivalents consumption at 24 hours postoperatively, measured via iv PCA pump with (morphine 1 mg/mL)

    Time frame: at 24 hours postoperatively

Secondary outcomes

  1. postoperative pain at 2 hours

    Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), minimum = 0 (no pain), maximum = 10 (worst pain imaginable)

    Time frame: 2 hours postoperatively

  2. Postoperative pain at 6 hours

    Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), minimum = 0 (no pain), maximum = 10 (worst pain imaginable)

    Time frame: 6 hours postoperatively

  3. Postoperative pain at 12 hours

    Numeric rating scale, minimum = 0 (no pain), maximum = 10 (worst pain imaginable)

    Time frame: 12 hours postoperatively

  4. Postoperative pain at 24 hours

    Numeric rating scale, minimum = 0 (no pain), maximum = 10 (worst pain imaginable)

    Time frame: 24 h postoperatively

  5. Postoperative nausea and vomiting

    Postoperative nausea and vomiting

    Time frame: number of episodes, at 24 hours postoperatively

  6. respiratory depression

    respiratory depression

    Time frame: number of episodes, at 24 hours postoperatively

  7. pruritus

    pruritus

    Time frame: number of episodes, at 24 hours postoperatively

  8. Local anesthetic systemic toxicity

    occurence of Local anesthetic systemic toxicity (yes/no)

    Time frame: 24 hours postoperatively

  9. Haematoma

    occurence of haematoma at puncture site (yes/no)

    Time frame: 24 hours postoperatively

  10. Pneumothorax

    occurence of pneumothorax (yes/no)

    Time frame: 24 hours postoperatively

  11. Allergic reaction to local anaesthetic

    occurence of allergy (yes/no)

    Time frame: 24 hours postoperatively

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Cardinale JP, Latimer R, Curtis C, Bukovskaya Y, Kosarek L, Falterman J, Tatum DM, Trusheim J. Incorporation of the Transverse Thoracic Plane Block Into a Multimodal Early Extubation Protocol for Cardiac Surgical Patients. Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2021 Dec;25(4):301-309. doi: 10.1177/1089253220957484. Epub 2020 Sep 9. PubMed 32907499 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Nov 2028, 24 months later.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 16, 2026
First posted
Oct 22, 2026
StartEst.
Nov 1, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Nov 1, 2028
CompletionEst.
Nov 30, 2028
Last update
Oct 22, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
Registered
First appeared on the registry. No changes since
Oct 22, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 22, 2026
    First appeared on the registry

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07890857
Lead sponsor
Hôpital du Valais
Collaborators
University of Lausanne Hospitals
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 22, 2026
Start date
Nov 1, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Nov 1, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Nov 30, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 22, 2026

Study contacts

Sina Grape, MD, MBA
Contact
sina.grape@hopitalvs.ch
+41276034400
Adrien Gross, MC
Contact
adrien.gross@hopitalfvs.ch
+41276031979

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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